SCOTLAND would benefit from a Good Friday-style agreement to break from the Union, a top SNP minister has said.
Stephen Gethins, who became Scotland's energy and external affairs minister after winning a seat in the Holyrood election, made the case for a break clause agreement between Westminster and the Scottish Government.
He used the examples of the Good Friday agreement, which sets out various conditions that if met would allow a formal border poll to take place to determine the future of Northern Ireland in UK, as well as Section 50 of the European Union's constitution, which is the mechanism used by the UK during Brexit to leave the bloc, to show the need for a similar arrangement in Scotland.
During a visit to Northern Ireland in June, Gethins said: "In the EU we have a model whereby you can respect the views of different nations and constituent parts, respect their sovereignty, strengthen their sovereignty, and strengthen their independence – that’s the 21st century model of union, one in which our neighbours in Ireland are thriving, and have no plans to give up.
"And you compare that to the [UK's] 18th century model of union that doesn’t have an Article 50 mechanism, which raises the key question of whether it’s actually a voluntary union?”
While distancing himself from some of the "dubious" conditions set out in the Good Friday agreement, he said it provides "a precedent, and... a model".
“We’re not looking to replicate, for example, the mechanism that exists in Northern Ireland. However, it does provide a precedent, and it does provide a model,” he said.
“In democracy, I’m a great fan of setting the rules out before the election, not after the election. I think that’s a basic principle that we can all agree on, and we’re in this challenging place at the moment whereby pro-union politicians determine how people voted after an election – we got that during Brexit, or what Brexit really means.
"So, we’d like to know, is it a majority of SNP MSPs, a pro-independence majority, or is it MPs (that will trigger a referendum)?”
Gethins, who now represents Dundee City East after giving up his Westminster seat (Arbroath and Broughty Ferry), explained that his personal vision of an independent Scotland would be based around a mix of the Republic of Ireland and the Nordic model.
He described the examples as nations that have been able to thrive "with the normal powers of independence within the European Union”.
While drawing inspiration from the Republic of Ireland and the Good Friday agreement, he distanced himself from the view held by some backers of the Celtic Alliance for a united push towards the break-up of the Union.
He said: "What people in Wales do is up to the people of Wales and what people in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in Ireland do is up to the people of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; I wouldn’t want to comment on that, nor should I.
“But one thing I can agree on is that we have so much in common across these islands, but so much has changed, and my plea to my colleagues down in Westminster is: This can no longer be ignored. The UK is not a unitary state. It is failing at the moment.”
